4:39pm Wednesday 29th August 2001
A £20,000 Millennium sculpture dogged by bad luck is unlikely to see the light of day at its planned Golders Green location.
There were red faces this week as it emerged London Underground (LU) had offered Barnet Council £10,000 towards re-siting the massive wrought-iron artwork.
Developed by artist Kevin Boyes following free community workshops to consult on its design, the sculpture was due for installation on the Tube bridge across Golders Green Road by December last year.
LU now says it is too heavy for the bridge and engineering works to strengthen it cannot take place until autumn 2002 at the earliest.
The sculpture is currently gathering dust in storage at Golders Green Tube station. It suffered a serious setback last year when it emerged just £1,000 had been raised towards the £20,000 costs despite an enthusiastic public response.
The council was forced to step in and bail the project out and is now faced with deciding where to put the finished piece.
Councillor Brian Coleman, Greater London Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden, welcomed LU's offer as "very generous".
"It gets the council out of a deep hole as nobody got proper permission from LU to put it up in the first place," he said. "The council commissioned it, built it and then realised they didn't have permission. The sooner this sculpture is erected the better it's a long running embarrassment for the council."
A Barnet Council spokesman denied the borough had not got permission over the siting of the sculpture.
"We've received a letter from LU and the option is being given active consideration," he admitted. "We're very disappointed about how long it has taken and we're committed to getting the sculpture up quickly."
Can you think of an alternative location for the sculpture? Suggestions please to our Letters Editor at 71 Church Road, Hendon.
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